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The UN special envoy for Yemen announced on Saturday that the Saudi Arabia-backed Yemeni government and the Iran-aligned Houthis have both agreed to take steps towards a ceasefire.
Since 2015, the Houthis, who control northern Yemen, have been engaged in a conflict against a Saudi-led military alliance, resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties and leaving 80 percent of Yemen’s population reliant on humanitarian aid.
The special envoy, Hans Grundberg, issued a statement expressing his approval of the parties’ commitment to a set of measures that include implementing a nationwide ceasefire, improving living conditions in Yemen, and preparing for the resumption of an inclusive political process under UN auspices.
Grundberg’s office stated that he will work with the parties to establish a roadmap, supported by the UN, to include these commitments and ensure their implementation. The roadmap will also encompass the two sides’ commitment to resume oil exports, pay public sector salaries, open roads in Taiz and other parts of Yemen, and “further ease restrictions on Sanaa Airport and the Hudaydah port”.
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The Saudi-led military coalition intervened more than eight years ago against the Houthi movement after it ousted Yemen’s internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government from Sanaa, the capital, in 2014.
The Saudi-backed government’s foreign ministry welcomed the special envoy’s statement on “the efforts made to reach a road map under the auspices of the United Nations to end the war caused by the Houthi militia”, Yemeni state news agency SABA reported.
The Houthi movement did not immediately comment when contacted by Reuters
Houthi officials from the first time since the war started in September visited Riyadh. This was followed by Omani-mediated consultations between Riyadh and Sanaa. Saudi envoys visited Sanaa in April as part of parallel UN peace efforts.
Red Sea attacks
The peace initiatives gained momentum after arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed, through a deal brokered by China, to re-establish ties. A permanent ceasefire in Yemen would mark a milestone in stabilizing the Middle East.
“Yemenis are watching and waiting for this new opportunity to provide for tangible results and progress towards lasting peace,” Grundberg said.
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“The parties have taken a significant step. Their commitments are, first and foremost, an obligation to the Yemeni people.”
The agreement comes amid a flurry of attacks by the Houthi rebels on key shipping lanes in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is fighting Hamas militants.
The Huothis have pledged to attack Israel-linked vessels or ships heading to Israeli ports unless an end is brought to the Israel-Hamas conflict that started on October 7.
They have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels involving more than 35 different countries, according to the Pentagon.
The attacks by the rebels are imperilling a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade, prompting the United States to set up a multinational naval task force to protect Red Sea shipping.
The Houthi “military actions hinder progress towards a peaceful resolution”, Mohammed Albasha, a senior Middle East analyst for the US-based Navanti Group, told AFP.
“The Houthis have transitioned… to becoming aggressors targeting civilian assets,” he said.